Report: Blu-ray Consumer Awareness Approaches 50%

A new consumer study said 45% of HDTV owners claim to be familiar with next-generation packaged media Blu-ray, up from 35% in June 2007.

The study by Port Washington, N.Y.-based The NPD Group said 6% of consumers surveyed intended to purchase a Blu-ray player.

“With HDTV now in approximately 40 million U.S. households, that percentage translates to a pool of almost 4 million potential BD player buyers,” said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD.

Among Blu-ray consumers, a majority cited the format's “leading edge technology” and “superior viewing experience” as primary reasons for purchase. About 80% said they would purchase upcoming movies on Blu-ray instead of standard DVD.

This tally was slightly more than double the percentage of Sony PlayStation 3 owners (43%) who said they viewed Blu-ray movies on a PS3 at least once a month.

“The door is open for studios to feed the consumer's appetite for Blu-ray content, and we expect sales to increase, as prices for hardware and software moderate in the coming months,” Crupnick said. “Even so, it will take a concerted effort by manufacturers and retailers to ratchet awareness even further and convince all of those potential buyers of the superiority of Blu-ray versus standard DVD.”

Indeed, the study said Blu-ray manufacturers and studios faced ongoing challenges as many consumers said they were satisfied with standard DVD and considered the prices of Blu-ray players and movies too expensive.